Jeb Bush in Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2013-2015


On War and Peace: While Trump did reality TV, GW Bush built security apparatus

[In the debate], Trump said, "The war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake. They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none."

Bush, defending his family, responded with uncharacteristic intensity. "While Donald Trump was building a reality TV show, my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us safe," he countered.

Trump shot back that President Bush's efforts did little good, pointing to the destruction of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

Source: Los Angeles Times on 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 13, 2016

On Foreign Policy: Russia won't be an ally in Syria but maintain communication

Q: You have said that Russia could be an ally against ISIS, but only if they abandon their alliance with Assad in Syria. How do you get them to do that?

BUSH: I don't think we will. I have great doubts whether Russia would make that big kind of sea change. But we always should be in dialogue with Russia. My problem is, talking to Russia from a position of weakness only enables their objectives. It has nothing to do with ours. If we were stronger, we would be in a better position to deal with them.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 coverage:2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 29, 2015

On War & Peace: No-fly zone in Syria; arm Kurds; establish Sunni coalition

Q: How is your strategy to defeat ISIS any faster or more effective than the current one?

BUSH: I would say a no-fly zone, creating safe zones in Syria, directly arming the Kurds in Iraq, reengaging both politically and militarily with the Sunnis - the Sunni tribal leaders who were effective partners in the creation of the surge. Have our troops be embedded with the Iraqi military. But, basically, all of this needs to be a strategy, not just one-off kind of incremental decisions being made by this president who wants to run out the clock. The strategy ought to be, how do we destroy ISIS and how do we create stability in the aftermath? And, right now, we have neither.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 coverage:2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 29, 2015

On War & Peace: Send troops to Syria to then remain to maintain stability

Q: One of the things the president has said is that his military advisers have told him that if you were going to put U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq, they would have to stay as an occupational force. Is that wrong?

BUSH: I think it is wrong. I think that had we kept a small force in Iraq, we wouldn't have the mess that we have right now.

Q: You want troops to go in, but then everybody agrees there need to be some kind of stability afterwards. If 10,000 was a good sustaining force in Iraq after all the activities, but this is a totally new adventure, it would seem that upwards of 10,000 troops would be necessary for the kind of engagement you're talking about.

BUSH: If I'm commander in chief, my first order is, give me options, and if the military says that we need a fighting force of X- thousand, and this is the best way to destroy ISIS, then I would take that under advisement for sure.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 coverage:2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 29, 2015

On Foreign Policy: Islamic terrorism has co-opted Islamic religion

Q: On Twitter last night criticized the Democratic candidates for being unwilling to use the phrase radical Islamic terrorism at the debate. Hillary Clinton said she's following the example of your brother, George W. Bush, after 9/11.

(VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH: The face of terror is not the truth faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.

Q: Is Islam peace?

JEB BUSH: I know what Islamic terrorism is. And that's what we are fighting with ISIS, al Qaeda, all of the other groups. And that's what our focus should be on. This is not a question of religion. This is a political ideology that has co-opted a religion. And I think it's more than acceptable just to call it for what it is and then organize an effort to destroy it. The simple fact is that these are Islamic terrorists that has have co-opted a faith that is peaceful. But, nevertheless, this is something we need to fight.

Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 15, 2015

On Foreign Policy: America needs to lead in fight against Assad and ISIS

Q: Do you agree with Governor O`Malley that the fight in Syria is America's fight more so than the world's fight?

BUSH: It's both. And I think Governor O`Malley probably agrees with me that we need to lead. We cannot lead from behind. We have to take a leadership role to inspire our Arab partners and the European countries, NATO allies, all of them together, create a strategy, act on it, unleash a strategy on ISIS and we'll be successful.

Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 15, 2015

On Homeland Security: Let military experts determine troop count

Q: Do you think we should send more troops into Syria, more troops into Iraq?

BUSH: I would listen to the military commanders and give them the mission, which is, how do we destroy ISIS? It is Islamic terrorism. It's not a law enforcement engagement. And listen to them and then develop a clear strategy. I can't tell you the force levels required to do this. I do know that it has to be done in unison with our allies. We can't do this alone, but we must lead.

Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 15, 2015

On War & Peace: NATO should consider declaring war on ISIS

Q: The pope called the Paris massacre part of World War III. President of France Hollande called it an act of war. Should NATO invoke Article V, an attack on one is an attack on all, and declare war on ISIS?

BUSH: I think the president should convene the North American Council to discuss that. And I do think that it's worthy of consideration, for sure. If that's what the French want, as our longest and strongest and most loyal ally over our entire history, we should certainly consider it. Our hearts go out to the people of Paris and to France. This is the second time they have had an atrocious act of terror in their country. We need to show complete solidarity with them.

Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 15, 2015

On War & Peace: Declare a war in Syria, take out ISIS and Assad

Q: Our coalition partners like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, they care more about getting rid of Assad than they do in dealing with ISIS. Should the United States pause on getting rid of Assad?

BUSH: No, I think we need to do both. We should declare war and harness all of the power that the United States can bring to bear both diplomatic and military, of course, to be able to take out ISIS. We need to declare a no-fly zone over Syria. Directly arm the Peshmerga forces in Iraq. Build up the Syrian Free Army. Re-engage with the Sunni tribal leaders. Embed with the Iraqi military. Be able to create safe zones in Syria. Garner the support of our European allies and the traditional Arab states. This a threat to Western civilization and we should consider it that way.

Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 15, 2015

On War & Peace: Best way to defeat terrorist ideology is to destroy ISIS

Q: The French president says we are at war [with radical ideology after the Paris terrorist attacks]. How do you defeat an ideology?

BUSH: You take it to them in Syria & Iraq. You destroy ISIS. And then you build a coalition to replace this radical Islamic terrorist threat to our country & to Europe & to the region with something that is more peace loving. We have to be engaged. This is not something you can contain. Each day that ISIS exists, it gains new energy and more recruits around the world.

Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 15, 2015

On War & Peace: War is the only option in Syria, to take out Caliphate

Q: What do you tell an American public who says, "You know what, the Iraq War, Afghanistan, we've had a lot of blood and nothing's changed in the Middle East. We've tried intervention, we've tried toppling dictators, we've tried nation building. None of it has worked. What do you tell the American public?

BUSH: I tell the American public that a caliphate the size of Indiana garners strength each and every day if it's not taken out. 30,000 to 40,000 battle-tested soldiers that are organized to destroy our way of life. We have to be in this fight. There is no other option. And this threat can be contained, but more importantly, it'll never die unless it's destroyed. The policy of containment isn't going to work.

Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls Nov 15, 2015

On Social Security: Allow diverting over 10% to private savings accounts

While his brother, former President George W. Bush, pursued a controversial plan to privatize Social Security, Jeb Bush said in August that he doesn't plan to take a similar path. "It would have made sense back then, now we're way beyond that," Bush said

Earlier this year, Bush took heat from critics after saying that he wants "to phase out this program for others and move to a new system that allows them to have something." After Democrats pounced, accusing the candidate of wanting to destroy entitlements, Bush pushed back, saying he wanted to "reform" the program, not eliminate it.

To help increase retirement savings plans, Bush would encourage "starter 401(k) plans" for small business employees. He also favors the idea of letting small bu

Source: CNN 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Oct 27, 2015

On Abortion: Defund Planned Parenthood, but not with federal shutdown

Q: You say the next president should defund Planned Parenthood. When you say the next president, does that mean that you're against a conceivable government shutdown in order to force this president?

BUSH: I'm against a government shutdown. That's not how democracy works. But I defunded Planned Parenthood when I was governor. And I think it's abhorrent that 330,000 or 340,000 abortions take place through these clinics. I'm a pro-life governor and I'd be a pro-life president. But it will have no effect on funding for Planned Parenthood. That's the problem in Washington right now. It's so dysfunctional that that's considered a victory. Continue to fund Planned Parenthood, shut down the government and then cost the taxpayers more. It is better to elect a conservative president that will pledge to do it and work with Congress.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Energy & Oil: Create a North American energy strategy

Q: Governor, you're coming out with a new energy plan this next week. How about a headline?

BUSH: I think we ought to be all in on energy. We need to create a North American energy strategy, which means approve the XL Pipeline, allow for the export of crude oil and dramatically improve the licensing of LNG plants (liquefied natural gas). But it's more difficult to do. Expand the possibilities of leasing on federal lands and waters, particularly where states have an interest in doing so. There's a lot that we can do to create high growth for our economy, lower utility prices and I'm total

Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Foreign Policy: Obama/Clinton/Kerry foreign policy caused global instability

The problem today is we have a president who doesn't believe America's presence and leadership in the world is working. That's what I'm up against. It's the failed policies of the Obama/Clinton/Kerry foreign policy that is creating a really unstable and dangerous world.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Immigration: Prove border is secure, while doing comprehensive reform

Q: In your 2013 book on immigration, you say that pushing for an "enforce the border first" policy is, in your words, "self-defeating," that you're going to need a path to legalization as part of a compromise if you're going to get anything through Congress. Is that still your position?

BUSH: I think you can do both, but the first step is to prove that the border is secure. I mean, you could have a conversation about comprehensive reform while you're doing your job. This president committed to comprehensive reform and has done nothing and he hasn't enforced the border to the satisfaction of anybody that's looked at this issue.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Tax Reform: Reduce corporate tax rate to stimulate growth

Q: You have put out a detailed tax plan: you want three tax brackets, 10%, 25% and 28%, a cap on tax deductions, except for charity, at 2% of gross income. Lower the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, almost double the standard deduction. Briefly, what's the thinking?

BUSH: The thinking is we need to create high, sustained economic growth to lift people out of poverty and to give people a pay raise for the first time in a long while. So reducing the corporate tax rate and fully expensing capital investment will create investment in our own country, on Main Street, in the real economy, and that's what we need to be focused on.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Tax Reform: Tax plan disproportionately benefits middle class, not rich

Q: There's another complaint about your tax plan and that is the issue of who benefits. The Tax Foundation says the middle class would see an after tax income increase 2.9%. But the top 1% would get a boost of 11.6%.

BUSH: Look, the benefit of this goes disproportionately to the middle class. If you look at what the middle class pays today compared to what they would pay in our tax plan because higher income people pay more taxes right now and proportionally, everybody will get a benefit. But proportionally, they'll pay more in with my plan than what they pay today.

Q: Well, I mean forgive me, sir, but 2.9% seems like it's less than 11.6%

BUSH: The simple fact is 1% of people pay 40% of all the taxes. And so, of course, tax cuts for everybody is going to generate more for people that are paying a lot more. I mean that's just the way it is.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Tax Reform: Cutting taxes decreases the deficit dynamically

Q: Whether it was Ronald Reagan's or your brother's tax cuts, didn't they add greatly to the deficit?

A: They didn't as greatly as the static thinkers on the left think. They created a dynamic effect of high growth and that's what we need.If we think that if people think 2% growth is OK, then we'll have more people living in poverty and disposable income for the middle class will continue to decline. We have to jump-start the economy so that people can have more money to make decisions for themselves

Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Welfare & Poverty: Poverty programs are ineffective, despite trillions spent

Q: You made the comment last week, regarding reaching out to African-American voters, that your "message is of hope and aspiration. It isn't one of division and get in line and we'll take care of you with free stuff." People argue that you think all some people want is government handouts.

BUSH: No, to the contrary, I think we need to make our case to African-American voters that fixing a few big complex things will allow people to rise up. Six million more people are in poverty today than the day that Barack Obama got elected; 2,000 fewer dollars in disposable income for American families. We spend a trillion dollars a year on poverty programs and the net result is the percentage of people in poverty has remained the same. We should try something different: fix our schools, fix our economy, lessen the crime rates in the big urban areas and I think people in poverty could be lifted up.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Sep 27, 2015

On Gun Control: Reduce gun violence and protect 2nd Amendment

Florida is a pro-gun state. Gun violence has dropped. There's a reason for it. We created a balance that's focused on lowering gun violence but protecting the Second Amendment, and it's a model for many other countries and many other states because of that. These cases of people who are just mentally deranged--we as a society better figure out how we identify these folks long before they feel compelled to take up a gun and kill innocent people.
Source: CNN Politics 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 27, 2015

On Gun Control: Signed first-in-the-nation Stand-Your-Ground law

Bush "has a conservative record on gun rights, having signed Florida's first-in-the-nation 'Stand Your Ground' bill into law in 2005," reports Vox. Bush canceled a Charleston campaign event after news of the shooting broke. "Governor Bush's thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this tragedy," a spokesperson said.
Source: Rolling Stone magazine on 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 18, 2015

On Jobs: State minimum wages ok, but not at federal level

Jeb Bush does not support raising the federal minimum wage. Last March, Bush said: "We need to leave it to the private sector. I think state minimum wages are fine. The federal government shouldn't be doing this."

With Los Angeles recently raising its minimum wage to $15 and other cities following suit, the issue is a hot topic. The current $7.25 federal minimum wage has not increased since 2009. Conservatives usually argue that raising the minimum wage will cut jobs because businesses will hire fewer people if they have to pay them more. Numerous Department of Labor studies have shown this isn't true.

Bush acknowledges that there is a growing income gap in the U.S., but thinks that the federal minimum wage won't close the gap, saying that he thinks minimum wage furthers the issue. He continued: "But the federal government doing this will make it harder and harder for the first rung of the ladder to be reached, particularly for young people, particularly for people that have less education."

Source: Bustle.com 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 16, 2015

On Social Security: Next president should try again for privatization

Jeb Bush thinks the next president will need to privatize Social Security, while acknowledging that his brother attempted to do so and failed. Bush has previously said he would support raising the retirement age to get Social Security benefits, a common position among Republicans. And he backed a partial privatization that House Republicans have proposed that would allow people to choose private accounts.

Bush acknowledged that when his brother President George W. Bush attempted to privatize Social Security in 2005, he met great bipartisan resistance. "My brother tried, got totally wiped out," Bush said. "Republicans and Democrats wanted nothing to do with it. The next president is going to have to try again."

Bush also said Social Security shouldn't be called an entitlement: "It's a supplemental retirement system that's not actuarially sound, how about that. Medicaid and Medicare are entitlements, and they are growing at a far faster rate than anything else in government."

Source: International Business Times on 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 16, 2015

On Homeland Security: Deal with bullies like Putin with strength, not nuance

Jeb Bush said that Russian President Putin was a "bully" and the US and its allies in Europe should be resolute in responding to Russian aggression: "Ultimately I think to deal with Putin you need to deal from strength--he's a bully and you enable bad behavior when you're nuanced with a guy like that," Bush told reporters in Berlin.

"I'm not talking about being bellicose--but saying 'here are the consequences of your actions', that would deter the kind of bad outcome we don't want to see."

Bush said signaling what further sanctions Russia could face, and reassuring Poland & the Baltic states that the US would meet its NATO obligations to view an attack on one member state as an attack against the whole alliance, could halt Putin's aggression. "If he thinks we're resolute, that's the greatest possibility of restricting any kind of further aggressions." However, he said, it was essential to ensure that the US did not isolate Moscow to such an extent that it ended up in the arms of China.

Source: Huffington Post 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 10, 2015

On Homeland Security: We need strategy against ISIS: advisory but not military

President Obama stated, "We don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis." Soon afterward, several GOP candidates seized the opportunity to attack Obama while touting their own foreign policy platforms.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is currently on a tour of Germany, Estonia, and Poland, tweeted, "In Germany, Obama admitted again what has been clear for a while, he has no ISIS strategy. A serious effort to defeat them is needed."

Many GOP candidates had criticized Obama's ISIS strategy even before the president's made his comments. Bush appeared last week on CBS's "Face the Nation" and called for a more aggressive approach to ISIS--though one that would limit American military ground support to mostly an advisory role. "We need a strategy. We don't have a strategy right now," he said.

Source: RealClearPolitics 2015 coverage: 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 9, 2015

On Social Security: Push back the retirement age to 68 or 70

Jeb Bush wants to push back the retirement age for Social Security by as many as five years. Instead of allowing Americans to collect full benefits at age 65, Bush suggested that it should be pushed back to 68 or 70: "I think it needs to be phased in over an extended period of time," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"We need to look over the horizon and begin to phase in, over an extended period of time, going from 65 to 68 or 70," he added. "And that, by itself, will help sustain the retirement system for anybody under the age of 40."

At the same time, Bush said that he would be open to cutting back benefits for wealthy people and their beneficiaries, a reform proposal known as means testing. "I think it ought to be considered, for sure," Bush said.

GOP lawmakers have repeatedly talked about trying to raise the retirement age and restructure the benefit program in order to make the program more sustainable. So far, however, grand entitlement reform has remained elusive.

Source: The Hill weblog 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls May 31, 2015

On Civil Rights: Let businesses express religious freedom against gays

Bush opened up a bit about his Catholic faith and religious freedom laws. He embraced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's recent signing of a controversial religious-freedom law calling it "the right thing" to do. The legislation has sparked intense backlash from Democrats and gay-rights groups, but Bush noted that President Clinton had signed a similar measure two decades ago. "This is simply allowing people of faith space to be able to express their beliefs, to be able to be people of conscience," Bush said. "I just think, once the facts are established, people aren't going to see this as discriminatory at all."

In recent weeks, some of Bush's biggest skeptics in the faith community had specifically mentioned wanting to hear from Bush on the issue of religious liberties. His comments put him publicly in line with the conservative evangelical right that he is quietly wooing ahead of his expected presidential run.

Source: National Journal 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 30, 2015

On War & Peace: Non-state terrorists are greatest threat we now face

Last week, as former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida sought to distance himself from his brother's foreign policy record at a speech in Chicago, he found himself embracing the sort of muscular engagement that had characterized the 43rd president's administration.

The former Florida governor called non-state terrorist groups such as the Islamic State "perhaps the greatest security threat that we now face for our own homeland."

He added, "Taking them out is the strategy."

Source: N.Y. Times 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 25, 2015

On War & Peace: OpEd: Supports 2003 Iraq invasion even with current evidence

Democrats have long blamed George W. Bush with a failed execution of the Iraq war. "If you thought George Bush made the world less safe, then you're going to really hate Jeb Bush's approach," said a Democratic National Committee spokesman. "Even with the benefit of hindsight, he's one of the few people left who still stands by the decision to rush into a war in Iraq based on false information, even when it took resources away from the hunt for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan."

Over the course of his brother's presidency, Bush frequently expressed support for the war. As the Iraq conflict began in 2003, he [said of his brother] "in his heart, I know he is doing what he thinks is right, and I concur with him." He visited Iraq with other Republican governors in April 2006 to visit US troops. Nearing the 10th anniversary of the start of the war, Bush said that "history will be kind to my brother, the further out you get from this and the more people compare his tenure to what's going on now."

Source: Wash. Post 2015 profiles of 2016 Presidential hopefuls Feb 16, 2015

On Foreign Policy: Pressured father's V.P. staff to help Cuban prisoners

Jeb Bush's most pointed pleas focused on the plight of Cuban exiles, an increasingly influential group by the time he arrived in Miami in 1980. Bush, who spoke fluent Spanish and had married a woman he met in Mexico, was quickly welcomed by Cubans, and he adopted their causes as his own, espousing their hard line against Fidel Castro's government.

Jeb Bush sought to arrange a meeting between his father and exile leaders. He called for economic sanctions that would "tighten the noose on Castro." And he questioned the Justice Department's prosecution of a Cuban militant who had already been incarcerated in "Castro's jail for 23 years."

Jeb Bush also sought a promotion for an Army colonel who he noted could become the first United States general of Cuban origin. The president's staff thought better of acting on that request. "Armed Services promotion board reacts very negatively to any sort of political pressure, perceived or otherwise," wrote one of his father's top aides.

Source: N.Y. Times 2015 profiles of 2016 Presidential hopefuls Feb 15, 2015

On Technology: BlackBerry pictured in official gubernatorial portrait

A spokeswoman for Jeb Bush, said, "from time to time, Governor Bush of course passed along information or requests to the White House, which were routed to appropriate channels. There is nothing odd or inappropriate about that," she added.

Bush's reliance on written communications presages his habits as an elected official. As governor, he was known to spend up to 30 hours a week on email and so adored his BlackBerry that he insisted on featuring the device in his official portrait.

The archives at the Bush and Reagan libraries contain more than 1,200 pages of documents relating to Bush, capturing dozens of exchanges between him and the White House staff. But even that may represent just a fraction of his messages, since the archives are incomplete.

Source: N.Y. Times 2015 profiles of 2016 Presidential hopefuls Feb 15, 2015

On Health Care: You should vaccinate your children; over and out

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush addressed the debate over vaccinations, an issue that has tripped up several of his potential presidential rivals in recent days: "Parents ought to make sure their children are vaccinated. Do we need to get into any detail on that?" Bush said bluntly. "Parents have a responsibility to make sure their children are protected. Over and out."

Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) both have been criticized for saying earlier in the week that parents should have some choice about whether to vaccinate their children.

In addition to the vaccination debate, Bush's speech also discussed conservative policies aimed at lifting up the middle class, immigration reform and President Barack Obama's foreign policy.

Source: Huffington Post 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 4, 2015

On Drugs: Smoked pot & drank alcohol in late 1960s high school

In 1967, Jeb arrived on the bucolic campus of Phillips Academy in Andover. His father and his older brother George had both gone to Andover. But this Bush almost ran aground in those first, formative prep school days. He bore little resemblance to his father, a star on many fronts at Andover, and might have been an even worse student than brother George. Classmates said he smoked a notable amount of pot--as many did--and sometimes bullied smaller students.

Resolutely apolitical despite his lineage, a roommate said of Jeb that while other students "were constantly arguing about politics and particularly Vietnam, he just wasn't interested, he didn't participate, he didn't care."

Bush, in 2015, acknowledged breaking a series of rules. "I drank alcohol and I smoked marijuana when I was at Andover," Bush said, both of which could have led to expulsion. "It was pretty common." He said he had no recollection of bullying and said he was surprised to be perceived that way by some.

Source: Boston Globe profiles of 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 1, 2015

On Drugs: My high school drug use was "stupid" and "wrong"

[Jeb attended Phillips Andover]; in the fall of 1968, the 10th-grade students divided into cliques of "jocks, freaks, and zeros," as one classmate put it: and Bush, with his taste for marijuana and his skill at tennis, straddled the line between jock and freak, never comfortably in either group.

One of those who did get to know Bush was Peter Tibbetts, who said he smoked hashish--a cannabis product typically stronger than pot--in Jeb's dorm room. "The first time I really got stoned was in Jeb's room," Tibbetts said. "He had a portable stereo with removable speakers. He put on Steppenwolf for me." Tibbetts said said he once bought hashish from Bush but stressed, "I was seeking the hash, it wasn't as if he was a dealer; though he did suggest I take up cigarettes so that I could hold my hits better."

Bush previously has acknowledged what he called his "stupid" and "wrong" use of marijuana. In the years since, he has opposed efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal or recreational use.

Source: Boston Globe profiles of 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 1, 2015

On Foreign Policy: Built schoolhouse in Mexico on a high school project

As Bush reached his third year at prep school, in the fall of 1969, his father was running for the US Senate on a pro-war platform even as antiwar protests grew on campus. But Bush wanted nothing to do with politics. Indeed, Bush wanted to get away from campus.

In the fall of 1970, he enrolled in a class called Man and Society, which featured seminars on "poverty, conflicts (violence) and power structure." At the conclusion of the course, students were given the option of spending the winter trimester either in South Boston or central Mexico. Bush chose the warmer locale. It was a decision that would change his life.

The trip to Mexico was designed to introduce a small group of students to another world, a village with an indigenous population where Andover boys would help build a cinder-block schoolhouse. Bush said at the time that he went to Mexico to learn Spanish and study the culture [but the 17-year-old Bush also met his future wife on that same trip].

Source: Boston Globe profiles of 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 1, 2015

On War & Peace: 1971: Registered for draft but never got drafted

For years, students entering college could count on getting a deferment from military service in Vietnam until they graduated. But after complaints that too many college students were able to avoid serving, Nixon changed the Selective Service policy so that students entering college in the fall of 1971--which would include Bush--could not count on getting an educational deferment. A few weeks after graduation from Phillips Academy and before entering college, on July 16, 1971, Bush filled out an index card on which he registered for the draft. On the line requesting a contact, he listed "Amb. George H. W. Bush, New York City."

Bush received a draft number of 26 on a calendar-based scale that went to 365, earning him a "1A" classification that meant he likely would have been drafted if the war continued at full pace. But he avoided such a fate because the war was winding down--a fact for which some credit was due those of his generation who participated in protests that he had refused to join.

Source: Boston Globe profiles of 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 1, 2015

On War & Peace: 1971: Ambivalent about Vietnam, but would have served

Bush's mother, Barbara Bush, once said that Jeb had considered declaring himself a conscientious objector, adding that the family would have backed such a decision. Bush said in the interview that he was "ambivalent" about the Vietnam War, and stood by a previous comment that he was "probably against" it, a view that he noted was shared by many of his peers. But he said he never considered being a conscientious objector: "I registered; I would have gone; I got the physical. I was declared 1A, and the draft was eliminated," Bush said. Asked how voters considering him as a potential commander-in-chief might view his less-than-enthusiastic view of serving in Vietnam, Bush urged that it be seen in the context of that war and that time. "I was 18," he said. "I'm 61 years old now." Unlike his brother George, who was a member of the National Guard from 1968 to 1974, Bush didn't volunteer for any kind of military service.
Source: Boston Globe profiles of 2016 presidential hopefuls Feb 1, 2015

On Abortion: Husband of Terri Schiavo blames Bush for harassment

Michael Schiavo was the husband of Terri Schiavo, the brain-dead woman from the Tampa Bay area who ended up at the center of one of the most contentious, drawn-out conflicts in the history of America's culture wars. The fight over her death lasted almost a decade. But it never would have become what it became if not for the dogged intervention of the governor of Florida at the time, Jeb Bush.

Michael Schiavo called Jeb Bush a vindictive, untrustworthy coward. For years, the self-described "average Joe" felt harassed, targeted and tormented by the most important person in the state. "It was a living hell," he said, "and I blame him."

Seen in thousands of pages of court records, was Jeb the converted Catholic, Jeb the pro-life conservative, Jeb the hands-on workaholic, Jeb the all-hours emailer.

The case showed he "will pursue whatever he thinks is right, virtually forever," said one pundit: "It's a theme of Jeb's governorship: He really pushed executive power to the limits."

Source: Politico.com 2015 article on 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 18, 2015

On Civil Rights: Respect civil unions & same-sex lifetime commitments

On same-sex marriage, Bush has not embraced legalization, yet he has adopted sympathetic, accepting language. A Bush friend says, "There is an evolution in temperament and an evolution in judgment--and there is an evolution in his respect for others' point of view."

Policy adjustments big & small are routine in American politics. Pres. Obama and Hillary Clinton both previously objected to same-sex marriage; today, they support it.

For Bush, the pattern was illustrated last week by a head-turning statement on the legalization of same-sex marriage in Florida, when he urged "respect" for the unions and offered words of conciliation to same-sex couples "making lifetime commitments to each other."

In 1994, as he ran for governor in Florida, Bush employed strikingly different language when discussing gay rights, arguing that "polluters, pedophiles, pornographers, drunk drivers and developers without permits receive--and deserve--precious little representation or defense from their governor."

Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Civil Rights: 1994: LGBT protections are tantamount to elevating sodomy

A sharply conservative tone came to characterize Bush's entire 1994 gubernatorial campaign. In July, Bush published a now-infamous op-ed arguing against anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, which he said were tantamount to elevating "sodomy." Bush's team has since sought to distance him from that piece, with a spokeswoman telling BuzzFeed that it "does not reflect Gov. Bush's views now."
Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Crime: 1994: build more prisons; serve longer sentences

As Bush crisscrossed Florida in the summer of 1994, he promised to build more prisons and ensure that convicts served at least 85% of their original prison sentences before they were paroled. In the cases of juvenile offenders, Bush told the Sentinel that it was time to "emphasize punishment over therapy."

One of Bush's central themes during the 1994 campaign was his desire to streamline the execution process for death row inmates. In order to do this, he proposed limiting death row inmates to only one appeal with the state, a measure he hoped would speed up the state's execution process. Bush named his plan "one trial, one appeal," and released it in the spring of 1994.

Enacting the "one trial, one appeal" plan would have required Florida voters to approve an amendment to the state's constitution, but this hurdle didn't dissuade Bush. In November, he reiterated his goal, saying, "I want to accelerate, not slow down, the enforcement of the death penalty in Florida."

Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Crime: 1990s: punishment over therapy; 2010s: that hardens people

Bush once called for building prisons and emphasizing "punishment over therapy" for juvenile offenders. Today, he supports reforming the criminal justice system, arguing that incarceration can harden low-level lawbreakers into career criminals.

Bush "does not flip-flop," a Bush adviser said. "He learns. When he learns, he changes." Bush was particularly influenced by the experience of governing: he suddenly had access to measurements of what worked, and what did not, on issues like juvenile justice

Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Education: 1994: cut Department of Education from 2,000 to 50 staff

The cornerstone of Bush's 1994 campaign was a sweeping set of conservative proposals that, if enacted, would have made Florida a virtual laboratory for far-right policy: "I would abolish the Department of Education as it now exists, reducing the 2,000 person bureaucracy to about 50 to administer federal education funding and maintain minimum academic standards in Florida's schools," Bush told the Orlando Sentinel in a November 1994 interview.
Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Environment: 1990s: Compensate landowners; 2010s: state-run conservation

In the past, Jeb used to emphasize the rights of big landowners who felt cheated by environmental programs. Now, he is a champion of state-sponsored conservation, celebrated for his $2 billion program to restore the Everglades.

Bush insists that he will not contort himself to satisfy ideologues, but his views have already changed--in presentation, in tone, in language and, at times, in substance.

A useful case study: the environment. Before the 1994 election, Bush supported a state constitutional amendment, also backed by big corporations, to compensate landowners hurt by conservation efforts. He held out the prospect of cutting funds for a major program to purchase environmentally fragile lands and declared that "excessive regulation does not mean we are going to improve the quality of water, air or land-use planning."

But Bush met with conservation experts and toured important environmental sites across Florida. When he was elected four years later, "his heart changed," an adviser said.

Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Tax Reform: 1994: Require voter approval of any new taxes

Bush [in his 1994 campaign] laid out a plan to require that any proposed new taxes be approved directly by Florida voters, a strategy that would have made it nearly impossible to pass them. What state revenue there was, Bush said, should be used whenever possible to hire private corporations to replace state employees: "We must push privatization [of government] in every area where privatization is possible," Bush told the Sentinel.
Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Welfare & Poverty: 1994 Phoenix Project: end welfare culture

Bush's tough brand of conservatism also featured new restrictions for Florida's welfare recipients. In early 1994, Bush unveiled a welfare reform plan dubbed the "Phoenix Project." The goal of the project, he later told the Miami Herald, was to "dismantle the welfare state and all the culture that comes from it."

Under the plan, Florida would refuse to accept federal funds to aid the state's poor families, and restrict benefits to just two years of assistance. To be eligible for benefits, poor women would be required to "identify the fathers of their children, submit to random drug tests and work if jobs were available," according to a Herald story from March 1, 1994.

Bush's welfare plan was an early sign of the sharply conservative tone that would come to characterize his entire campaign.

Source: New York Times 2015 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 11, 2015

On Government Reform: Vetoed more than $2.3 billion in earmarks

A biography of Bush on the PAC's website touts his conservative credentials, which have been criticized on talk radio and in Tea Party circles. "Gov. Bush remained true to his conservative principles throughout his two terms in office--cutting nearly $20 billion in taxes, vetoing more than $2.3 billion in earmarks and reducing the state government workforce by more than 13,000," the bio reads. "His limited government approach helped unleash one of the most robust and dynamic economies in the nation, creating 1.4 million net new jobs and improving the state's credit ratings, including achieving the first ever triple-A bond rating for Florida."
Source: 2015 Int'l Business Times on 2016 presidential hopefuls Jan 6, 2015

On Civil Rights: Don't-ask-don't-tell ok if it doesn't affect policy

Bush was less of a hard-liner when a gay Floridian hoping to win a job in Bush's administration gently asked if his sexual orientation would present a problem.

"On the other stuff, don't ask, don't tell is fine with me," Bush responded, appropriating the terminology Pres. Clinton used regarding gays in the military. "What you do in your private life is your business. If it crosses over into the public policy realm, then that is another matter. If you are comfortable with that, then we can proceed."

Source: N.Y. Times 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Dec 24, 2014

On Foreign Policy: Strengthen the Cuban embargo instead of lifting it

Jeb Bush's call for strengthening the US embargo of Cuba signals a get-tough approach to foreign policy sure to please his political base of Cuban-American conservatives. Bush's stance sets up a clear contrast to Hillary Clinton, who wants to lift the embargo and normalize relations with Cuba.

"I would argue that instead of lifting the embargo we should consider strengthening it again to put pressure on the Cuban regime," Bush told cheering supporters at a gathering of the US Cuba Democracy PAC, a pro-embargo advocacy group.

Bush did not spell out proposals for strengthening the embargo. But he implied that he wanted to reverse travel rules made by President Obama that allow Cuban-Americans to make unlimited trips to visit relatives. "Thousands of people travel to Cuba from the US , spending billions of dollars," Bush said. "Would lifting the embargo change the fact that the government receives almost all of the money that comes from these well-intended people that travel to the island?"

Source: Sun-Sentinel 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Dec 3, 2014

On Foreign Policy: We are leader among equals in community of nations

Bush said relatively little about his brother or his father in [his foreign policy speech to the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC]. He spent far more time talking about President Obama. Bush said the current president violated his first foreign-policy precept: to lead both the United States and the world. "We are not an equal partner in this so-called community of nations. We are a leader among equals," Bush said. "First, I think the United States needs to lead. Lead with humility. Lead with respect. But lead."

In calling for a foreign policy laced with "humility," Bush echoed his brother's call in 2000 to have a "humble" foreign policy. A year later, the US became far more interventionist after the 9/11 attacks, which ultimately helped lead the nation into invading Afghanistan and Iraq.

Source: Miami Herald 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Dec 2, 2014

On Foreign Policy: Words matter: presidents should mean it when they say it

One of Bush's precepts was more of a slogan: "Words matter." He said that time and again, Obama has made threats or promises and then failed to act: "Presidents need to set United States aspirations and intentions where there is little gap between words and deeds," Bush said. "Think of the 'Russian reset.' Think of the 'Syrian red line.' Think of the 'pivot to Asia.' Think of taking out ISIS."

Bush said Obama failed to accomplish any of these goals: "It undermines our credibility in the world. Our allies don't trust us. And our enemies don't fear us. There is no situation worse for stability and peace than that," Bush said. "The iron rule of superpower deterrent is 'mean it when you say it.' And it has been broken by this president."

Source: Miami Herald 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls Dec 2, 2014

On Education: No Child Left Behind got states to start reforms

Q: "No Child Left Behind" was one of the great bipartisan achievements that your brother had. What's its legacy?

BUSH: I think "No Child Left Behind" pushed states that refused to begin the process of reform into the arena. So now every state is on the journey. Some really slow and some far more advanced. But ultimately this is a state-driven kind of enterprise. But the jump start for a lot of states that refused to use accountability and testing and a focus on early literacy and all the things that began with "No Child Left Behind" wouldn't have happened. So I think it served a useful purpose.

Q: How bad is the current system?

BUSH: If you measure it by outcomes, 25% of kids pass all of the four segments of the ACT test which means that they're college-ready or career-ready. And about 20% don't graduate at all. That's failure.

Source: ABC This Week 2013 series of 2016 presidential hopefuls Oct 20, 2013

On Education: Common core lets 1,000 different curriculum flowers bloom

Q: How important is it to have national standards?

BUSH: Well I think higher standards is really the element of this that's most important. So if you dumb down the standards, everybody feels good. Little Johnny's going to get a piece of paper that says he's graduated from high school. But this massive remediation that's necessary to access higher education is evidence that we're not benchmarking ourselves to college readiness. So higher standards matter. The commonality of them--in this case 45 states--voluntarily creating them.

Q: The common core?

BUSH: The common core standards in language arts and math is important because curriculum is developed in this kind of system where there's common expectations. You'll have one thousand different flowers blooming as it relates to curriculum. It won't be homogenized, it will be diverse and alive which is what we need.

Q: But a lot of conservatives, certainly Tea Party movement, are very suspicious of this process.

BUSH: Sure.

Source: ABC This Week 2013 series of 2016 presidential hopefuls Oct 20, 2013

On Education: We test too much; focus on accountability instead

Q: Standards means testing; you hear a common complaint, "We test too much."

BUSH: Right.

Q: We study to the test. Do you agree with that? Do we test too much?

BUSH: I think we do test too much. You could have fewer tests and achieve the desired results of transparency and accountability for sure.

Q: It's hard to fire bad teachers. It's hard to reward good teachers. This has been a complaint in education reform circles for decades.

BUSH: Right.

Q: Has the system gotten any better?

BUSH: It has. In states like Florida we've eliminated tenure for new teachers. It's clear that we have to do this. But great teachers need to be rewarded more. Bad teachers, they should get out of the classroom. And those in the middle, there ought to be teacher development to help them enhance their skills. It's hard to do that in a system where collective bargaining based on longevity of service for all employees in school districts, not just for teachers, is the organizing principle.

Source: ABC This Week 2013 series of 2016 presidential hopefuls Oct 20, 2013

On Health Care: Let ObamaCare fail due to its own dysfunction

Q: This government shutdown started with House Republicans saying that they wanted to gut ObamaCare and they were willing to not fund the government until that happened. Your thoughts?

BUSH: Tactically it was a mistake to focus on something that couldn't be achieved. I would argue that allowing ObamaCare to be implemented, two things would happen. One, it would be so dysfunctional if it was implemented faithfully. Or it couldn't be implemented because the government is not capable of doing it. It looks like that, the latter rather than the former, may be happening.

Ted Cruz said, "Let's not agree to a funding resolution unless ObamaCare is defunded." Your message be to Ted Cruz?

BUSH: I think the best way to repeal ObamaCare is to have an alternative. We could do this in a much lower cost with improved quality based on free market principles. And show how ObamaCare, flawed to its core, doesn't work. It might actually be a politically better approach to see the massive dysfunction.

Source: ABC This Week 2013 series of 2016 presidential hopefuls Oct 20, 2013

On Immigration: FactCheck: Yes, immigrants are more fertile

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's comment "Immigrants are more fertile," sparked debate on twitter. Fertility can mean the ability to have children, but it can also refer to the birth rate of a population--and that's the way we evaluated Bush's statement.

Bush, speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference, made a pitch for immigration reform, saying America needs more new workers to help pay for retirees--"to rebuild the demographic pyramid" as he put it. "Immigrants are more fertile," Bush said. "And they love families and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population. Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity."

Bush's words were on track, and we rate the statement Mostly True.

Source: PolitiFact 2013 fact-checking on 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 18, 2013

On Energy & Oil: A "patriotic energy policy" will yield far more revenue

Q: Would you support some kind of increase in revenues as part of a reform package?

BUSH: I wouldn't say "no, heck, no," and that's it. What I would do is advocate policies that would create high growth because the revenue collected by government when you're growing at 3.5% instead of 1.5% is exponentially more. And high growth over a sustained period of time by having a patriotic energy policy, bringing regulation to the 21st Century, immigration reform would be a good one, reforming our education system, tax policy--all those things would yield, I think, far more revenue. That should be where there's the common ground. And in return, there should be some give and take as it relates to entitlement reform. You could get to a place where our fiscal house would be in order if we achieved that. The president has not been willing to discuss that but in the last week, he's begun to at least reach out to Republicans which is quite encouraging.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2013 series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On Immigration: Reform must make it easier to come legally than illegally

Q: For years you supported a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Now, according to your book, you no longer support that, but support a path to legal residency. Why have you changed?

BUSH: I haven't changed. The book was written to try to create a blueprint for conservatives that were reluctant to embrace comprehensive reform, to give them, perhaps, a set of views that they could embrace. I support a path to legalization or citizenship so long as the path for people that have been waiting patiently is easier and costs less, the legal entrance to our country, than illegal entrance. The worst thing that we could do is to pass a set of laws and have the exact same problem we had in the late 1980s, where there was not the enforcement and it was easier to come legally than illegally.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2013 series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On Immigration: People come illegally because there's no legal path to come

Q; You don't want to encourage further entry by undocumented workers, is that correct?

BUSH: That's exactly right. The incentives that exist today are for people to come illegally because there's no path for them to come legally. We don't have a guest worker program. We have lines that are so long, that in effect, there are no lines. If you--I mean, we have a lottery system where people actually put their names in. That's the reaction to our immigration system being so clogged up.

Q: This isn't really about the pathway to citizenship, is it? Isn't this about what everybody has called the empathy gap? That people look at the Republican Party and they think mean old white guys, mainly.

BUSH: I think that immigration is a gateway issue for people that have some part of the immigrant experience. It's a gateway issue if you can get past that, whether it's the empathy gap or actually having a positive agenda, then you have to make a case on a broader set of issues.

Source: CNN SOTU 2013 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On Immigration: My plan is legalization, not self-deportation

Q: What's the difference between that and what Mitt Romney was proposing last year, self-deportation, which you say in your book, made it almost impossible for him to get any Hispanic votes?

BUSH: The difference is that we are suggesting that there be a path to legalization, that people that are here come out from the shadows. That is a far cry from telling people they have to go back to their home country. And the other thing I would say is that our proposal also says for children of illegal immigrants, those who can't come here illegally that were children, that they should have a path to citizenship on a far faster basis. The so-called "DREAM Act" kids.

Q: But in terms of the path to citizenship, that is self-deportation, correct?

BUSH: No, it is not self-deportation; people can stay here. 60% of the people that were granted a process of legalization and citizenship in 1987 did not apply for citizenship. They stayed as legal residents of the country.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2013 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On Immigration: Path to citizenship or path to legalization: both could work

Q: Politico wrote about your book: "Bush takes a U-turn on pathway to citizenship." Did you change your view on this?

BUSH: My view has been that, in order to get comprehensive reform, we could take either path; either a path to citizenship or a path to legalization. The important point is that illegal immigrants should not get better benefits at a lower cost than people that have been waiting patiently. So assume we pass the law this year--and I hope that's the case--five years from now we should

Source: Meet the Press 2013 series on 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On Immigration: Path to citizenship or path to legalization: both could work

Q: Politico wrote about your book: "Bush takes a U-turn on pathway to citizenship." Did you change your view on this?

BUSH: My view has been that, in order to get comprehensive reform, we could take either path; either a path to citizenship or a path to legalization. The important point is that illegal immigrants should not get better benefits at a lower cost than people that have been waiting patiently. So assume we pass the law this year--and I hope that's the case--five years from now we should look back, and there should be fewer people coming illegally because we have an open legal system. Both of those paths could create that, as long as you change the rest of the system as well. So what's going on in the Senate and in the House right now is very positive. And if they can find a way to get to a path to citizenship over the long haul, then I would support that. But this book was written to try to get people that were against reform to be for it.

Source: Meet the Press 2013 series on 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On Principles & Values: Obama divided into "them vs. us"; GOP needs alternatives

Q: By every indicator, Obama should have lost the recent election. Yet, he didn't. Why?

BUSH: His campaign was well organized, and they got their vote out. Very basic math. He didn't win in a landslide. He won by 3%, but he won by in some ways dividing the country. So Republicans need to learn from this, and to not just be reacting to what we think is wrong about the president's policies. We need to be advocating positive policies as well.

Q: What do you mean when you say he divided the country?

BUSH: The basic part of his campaign was that those who were successful weren't paying their fair share, even though we have incredibly high taxes for high-income Americans. He ran a campaign of "them and us." And it was quite effective: that somehow Republicans don't care about the large number of people. And it's not true. But in order to win, I think Republicans need to offer a compelling alternative and have proposals on health care, have proposals on tax reform, on entitlement reform.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2013 series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On Tax Reform: Compromise on taxes ok, as part of a spending cut package

Q: You have taken some heat for your suggestion that you might be willing to accept higher taxes as part of a grand bargain, if you also got serious spending cuts, and you also gotten some entitlement reform. Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist said: "People are looking for someone who's tough and you are saying, 'I'll fold.'"

BUSH: What we ought to be focused on in Washington is to build consensus on the things where there's an agreement. Maybe that would be on creating sustained economic growth which creates more revenue than any tax increase. But I don't think that you should automatically say, "No. Heck, no." We have to find in a divided country ways to forge compromise. [Reagan] did exactly that, he forged consensus, he compromised, he didn't violate his principles. So, the idea that you have to have this doctrinaire view [like Grover Norquist's "No taxes" pledge], but you're not necessarily going to be able to solve these pressing problems that we have.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2013 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

On War & Peace: Over time, people will respect our resolve in Iraq

Q: We're coming up on the ten-year anniversary of the war in Iraq which is widely seen in public opinion polls as a mistake. Do you think that will ever change?

BUSH: Yes. You know, a lot of things in history change over time. I think people will respect the resolve that my brother showed, both in defending the country and the war in Iraq. But history will judge that in a more objective way than today. The war has wound down now and it's still way too early to judge what success it had in providing some degree of stability in the region.

Source: CNN SOTU 2013 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Mar 10, 2013

The above quotations are from Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2013-2015, interviewing presidential hopefuls for 2016.
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Page last updated: Nov 30, 2021